The Ball: Conflict, Awkwardness, and Sadness
by ScruffleMuffin
Summary: Join Gemma, Fee, Ann, Kartik, Simon, Tom, and your other favorite characters for a ball at Spence. Rated T for mild romance, playfulness, just in case. So, yeah. This summary isn't doing the story any justice. xP


**A/N: This is my first fanfiction story. It was actually an assignment, so I had to keep it pretty clean. xD Anyways, I just wanted to explore the different characters and stuff like that. And yes, I DID steal the part with Cecily's fake pearls from the third book. But I changed it a LITTLE. So yeah. Hope you enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Gemma Doyle trilogy. You can thank Libba Bray for that. :)**

Ann, Felicity, and I laughed our way into the Spence Academy for Young Women's beautiful ballroom. Felicity was a vision in blue. Her pale blonde hair lightly curled, free and unyielding, just like her. Her sensual curves were defined and just barely covered by blue silk and creamy lace. All the men immediately turned to look at her, mouths agape. She smiled a polite yet devilish smile.

The men had not yet averted their gaze from the doorway when Ann stumbled in after Felicity. A blush rose to her pale cheeks as she stepped back and ducked behind me. Men made her nervous.

Ann wore a plain pink dress. She wasn't nearly as beautiful as Felicity, but Fee had been kind enough to do Ann's mousy brown hair up nicely.

I chuckled and continued into the ballroom. All the men who had stared at Felicity had turned back around by now, but I was used to that. Felicity, the beautiful and daring, and Ann the timid and careful. I was wearing a simple green dress, fancier than Ann's, yet plainer than Felicity's. My red hair was up, as it usually was, in a fancy braided bun.

I walked up to Felicity, dragging Ann behind me. The three of us scanned the room, and saw a few Spence girls that we knew, but the room was mostly filled with strangers. We saw Mrs. Nightwing, Spence's headmaster, standing in a far, dim corner of the room, staring at everyone with distaste. We then saw Cecily, Elizabeth, and Martha all crowded together. Cecily and Martha were pointing and snickering at people. Elizabeth was watching the two carefully. She was always the last one to point and laugh. Cecily caught our eyes and marched towards us, her posse falling in step behind her.

"Oh, no." Ann said under her breath.

When the three girls approached us, the leader smiled fakely.

"Hello Felicity, dear." She reached out to run her fingers across Felicity's dress. "You look stunning."

Felicity nodded. "Thank you, Cecily."

Cecily completely ignored Ann and I, but I knew that wouldn't last for long. A strike at Ann was likely to be near. I could tell. The way Cecily looked at Ann while talking to Felicity. The way she tried to hide her smirk as she found something wrong with Ann, a fault. The way she eagerly waited for Felicity to finish her sentence. The tigress was ready to pounce.

"… At least it is not raining." Felicity finished.

"Yes, yes." said Cecily. "We are quite fortunate."

"So, Ann." Cecily sidled up to the timid mouse of a girl. "I love your dress." She said snidely, obviously lying. "Didn't you wear it to the last ball at Spence? And the one before that?"

Ann looked away and bit her lip. I slipped my hand into hers, supplying silent comfort. Why must Cecily make fun of her this way? Ann's family is poor. She cannot afford lots of pretty dresses like the rest of us, and Cecily knows that. She loves to torture Ann, because she is very sensitive. Cecily could break her easily.

"And those shoes…" Cecily said with a small smirk. "Don't you wear those every day?"

Ann looked down at the bit of her old, worn lace-up boots that showed just beneath the hem of her dress. She kept her gaze there, and squeezed my hand. Felicity noticed and swooped in to save Ann. She moved closer to Cecily and leaned in to look at the beautiful string of pearls that hung around her neck.

"Cecily!" Felicity mock gasped.

At the sound of Fee's gasp, Elizabeth and Martha leaned in closer, though they pretended not to be listening to our conversation.

"What?" Cecily asked, slightly panicked.

Felicity looked pointedly at the pearls. "I can't believe you would wear…" She lowered her voice. "_Those._"

"Why not?" Cecily clawed at her pearls, making them _click clack _together.

Felicity lifted the necklace off Cecily's neck for a better look. "They're… _fakes._" She said, and I admired her ability to keep a straight face when she told such lies.

Cecily swallowed hard, unwilling to believe. "Really?" She asked, the word edged with fear.

"Yes. Plaster." Felicity confirmed. She smiled a small smile as Cecily's face twisted into some bizarre (and rather creepy) expression of horror. Elizabeth and Martha raised a dainty hand to their mouths in surprise.

"Oh, no!" Cecily cried softly. "Do you suppose anyone has seen?"

She scanned the ballroom, as if she thought people might be pointing and laughing at _her._ Only a small group made up of three men was looking our way. They were grinning devilishly. One of them winked at us.

Elizabeth gasped. "How rude!" she exclaimed.

Felicity rolled her eyes.

I was about to roll my eyes too, when I realized who the man that winked at us actually was. He was Simon Middleton, the man of nobility who had courted me and even proposed to me. I had declined. And even though that was the right decision, my heart, though rarely, still aches for him. I sent him the smallest smile and then turned back to hysterical Cecily. She was convinced that someone had seen the "fake" pearls, and now her life and reputation was ruined. Cecily Temple could never be seen wearing fake or cheap clothing or accessories. Felicity had managed to convince her to just take the necklace off and return it to the dormitory.

"We'll just have to hope that nobody saw." Felicity said with fake remorse. "Now run up to your room."

Cecily tearfully agreed and I knew that this little incident had ruined her night. Ann, Fee, and I shared a secret smile.

Just as Cecily unclasped her pearls, Simon Middleton walked over to us. Cecily, Elizabeth, and Martha started to leave as soon as Simon said, "Hello, Miss Doyle." He smiled at me. He nodded politely to Ann and Fee. "Miss Bradshaw. Miss Worthington."

"I didn't expect to see you here." I told him.

My two best friends nodded and smiled.

Simon frowned at Cecily's, Elizabeth's, and Martha's retreating figures. He playfully pouted. "Oh, I was hoping that you'd introduce me to your friends."

"They are just acquaintances." Felicity said. Even she is not cruel enough to put Cecily, Elizabeth, and Martha upon Simon.

He eyed the three of us carefully. "Alright then." He said. "So Gemma, dear, how have you been?" He clasped his hands with mine and started to sway with me and twirl me around. Before I even had the chance to answer, he asked me another question. "May I have this dance?" He said, smiling at me.

"I suppose so," I replied as he swept me into the middle of the ballroom where we danced together. He held me a little tighter and closer than I would have liked, but I let it slide. He was having fun, and so was I. Our laughter flew from our lips and all the way up to the tip of the ballroom ceiling, where it then burst and rained happiness over everyone in the room. Felicity floated by in the arms of a handsome brunette whom I did not recognize. She winked as she passed and I smiled at her. Ann had somehow found my brother, Thomas, in the crowd. I found her red-faced, stumbling to keep up with him. Tom sent me a pained look, which soon turned to a jolly smile as Ann accidentally knocked into somebody. He laughed at embarrassed Ann and pulled her back into him. For just a few moments, everything was forgotten. I forgot my past with Simon, and we acted like good friends again. Felicity forgot that she never wishes to settle down and have a family, and I saw her exchange cards with the brunette she had been dancing with. Tom forgot that Ann is not rich nor very pretty, also forgetting the lies we had told him about her, and I saw them having the time of their lives dancing together.

Soon, Simon and I tired of dancing. We walked over to a large table with food and drink and stuffed our faces with shrimp and cheese. Simon grabbed a glass of wine before leading me outside onto the balcony that overlooks Spence's well-groomed courtyard. We leaned against the curved balcony railing and enjoyed the beautiful view. There was no one else out here but us. He placed his hand on my arm, and we sighed together, caught up in the perfect moment. Then he placed his glass down on the railing and swooped down to steal a long kiss from me, bold as you please. I shoved him away, stumbling backwards. The kiss had awakened me from my surreal dream, and now I was back in reality. Harsh reality.

"Come on, Gemma…" he pleaded, grabbing my chin and turning my head to face him.

I pulled free from his grasp. "No." I whispered. "_No._"

I backed away from him and ran to the opposite end of the balcony. He turned with a sigh and walked back into the ballroom.

I had a couple of minutes by myself to think, when suddenly I heard the sound of twigs snapping and leaves rustling in the courtyard. Out came Kartik and Ithal from behind a large bush. They crossed the courtyard, and soon Kartik caught my eye and fell behind. Ithal stopped and waited for him. Kartik stopped and stared at me. Felicity and Ann chose that exact moment to stumble onto the balcony, their bodies buzzing from the music, the people, the dancing, and the alcohol-soaked cheeses.

They both turned to see what I was looking at, and Felicity locked eyes with Ithal.

He stepped forward and spoke, his accent thick and his English broken. "Felicity, my beautiful. Fin'lly. I have wait for you."

Felicity stared at him for a moment, then turned sharply on her heel and walked back inside. No response, not even a fleeting glance.

Ann looked to me, then to Ithal, then to Kartik, then back to me. I turned to Ann and shook my head.

I walked slowly over to the balcony railing. "Kartik…" I start, but both he and Ithal are already gone.

Something told me that Kartik had witnessed the kiss Simon gave me. The young Indian was the main reason that I had declined Simon's proposal in the first place, and now I am afraid I have ruined everything.

Ann slips her hand into mine and we walk back inside. The sudden exposure to the loud music and chatter makes me jump. As Felicity tries to avoid the many men and women that all want her, want to talk to her, want to marry her, want her money, want her power; and Tom and Simon both down another glass of wine; and Cecily shows up wearing an even more expensive and beautiful necklace than the pearl one she had on before; and Mrs. Nightwing rushes to reprimand a young girl who has accidentally knocked over a tray of olives; I realize that I prefer silence.


End file.
